Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys are singing softly while I knit and our oldest reads. He’s reading about a sea voyage where a ship is struck in two. I’m certain there will be a heroic ending (because isn’t there always?!), but he’s biting his nails in anticipation. I’m sure the sea shanties being sung are enlivening his imagination.

I slip one stitch off the needle and whisper softly and slowly.

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account…”

Another few stitches created. And my mind wanders around the room and makes lists of what needs to stay and what needs to go.

We’ve been making changes slowly here at our house.

Slowly.

Doesn’t that seem to be the word?

As we sit and wait for God to provide the finances for our mission in France, we wait. And we get rid of most of our earthly possessions to be ready.

It’s a slow process, this stripping away of things.

Peeling one layer back at a time.

We have pared back our kitchen to a few dishes, and four gadgets (our instant pot, a toaster, a crock pot, and a blender.) Who knows how long we’ll still be here in the States? It’s slow. We’ve gotten rid of 95% of the baby clothes we had in storage in case another little one gets sent our way.

But there are so many more layers. Our garage is an endless abyss, seemingly.

As we are in the midst of the slow and the wait, we continue to press on. I’ve taken it upon myself to get rid of our possessions, to make us ready at the exact instant God provides the means for our family to begin our ministry in France. It’s all I can do right now. And I need to be doing something.

So I slip some more stitches onto the other needle. Taking off and putting on.

It seems like an endless slow. But as I look back at the scarf that I’m working on, I see how much progress I’ve made in the couple days I’ve worked on it. Each stitch is a sacrifice from one needle and a gain on the other. A laying down of a row and a picking up of the other.

Taking off and putting on.

And my mind slips to some passages of scripture about what I should be taking off and putting on. I know there are about ten or so more passages at least, but these were the ones that came to mind.

Romans 13:12-14 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

1 Corinthians 15:53-55 “For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

Ephesians 4:20-24 “But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Today, you may not be getting rid of your earthly possessions, but I’m certain you’re laying something down and picking something else up. Sometimes life can feel monotonous and the wait can be long. Let’s you and I pick up the right things together. Let’s put on Christ.

About a week ago, I looked out onto our front lawn and saw some wild violets beginning to grow there. Because we’re a little…passionate, shall we say, about using what we’ve been given, I quickly googled to see if we could use wild violets in any culinary attempts.

Enter violet jelly, which is apparently a THING in Europe. Who knew?
I do, now.

So I polled facebook to find out if anyone knew of a local source for a large quantity of violets. A kind someone graciously volunteered their lawn. Today, I took our oldest to their lawn and made a game of getting as many violets before a forecasted rainstorm, which still hasn’t happened. Those weathermen.

We gathered about two quart-sized ziplock baggies between their lawn and ours.

Gather your violets. Make sure they are from a safe place where pesticides have not been sprayed.

Pour boiling water over violets, and let sit for two to three hours, stirring occasionally. Strain the flowers out, making sure to press out all of the water. You should have 3-1/2 cups of blue-green colored violet water.

Add lemon juice, pectin, and sugar and stir. Transfer to a 4-quart pot.

Bring to boil, boil for one minute. Skim off foamy residue.

We chose to strain the liquid as we poured it into our sterilized jars. This is optional---we just wanted a very smooth texture to our jelly.

So far, our oldest boy is NOT as into handicrafts as I would like him to be. Strike that. He loves the idea, but because he’s a perfectionist, it’s difficult for him to be satisfied with beginner efforts. I’m having him put aside the knitting and frustration, with thoughts of spring.

For a free read, we’re reading Little House in the Big Woods. It’s not required, and I’ve had to censor out some less-than-okay terminology in Pa’s songs. But overall, it’s been fun for the boys. Yesterday we read the chapter about maple sugaring.

Today’s Laura Ingalls Wilder’s birthday, and in honor of her birthday, I thought I’d share what we’re going to be doing in a couple weeks.

Maple tapping.

My parents have graciously agreed to allow us to tap several of their maple trees in exchange for syrup. In a few weeks, I’ll update you on the installation of our taps. Our oldest will be designing labels, measuring, counting, predicting, and learning a skill that could be used as an entrepreneurial opportunity later in life if he desired. Because it IS a skill that is not useless and produces a beautiful product, I’m calling it our handicraft for end of the school year.

We had our term end exams last week. (Actually, to be honest, both term one and term two’s exams, as I forgot to assess our oldest right before we went to China.) I learned what I need to work on as a teacher (geography) and where he struggles as a student (largely issues of perfectionism.) I’m excited to begin term three immediately after Christmas and to finish up in March.

I’ve been doing a small word study on the word “learn” in the Bible, as next year I want to dedicate to learning several skills and topics. The Bible tells us in many places what God wants us to learn or how He wants us to learn.

We read a poem this week in school that speaks about learning and living and the life that is well-lived.

Wishing
By: Ella Wheeler WilcoxDo you wish the world were better?
Let me tell you what to do.
Set a watch upon your actions,
Keep them always straight and true.
Rid your mind of selfish motives,
Let your thoughts be clean and high.
You can make a little Eden
Of the sphere you occupy.Do you wish the world were wiser?
Well, suppose you make a start
By accumulating wisdom
In the scrapbook of your heart.Do not waste one page on folly; Live to learn, and learn to live. If you want to give men knowledge You must get it ere you give.Do you wish the world were happy?
Then remember day by day
Just to scatter seeds of kindness
as you pass along the way:
For the pleasures of many
May be oft times traced to one,
As the hand that plants an acorn
Shelters armies from the sun.

Now, because I’ve already shared my book list with you. I’ll share my TOP-SECRET resources for self-education. That basically anyone with access to internet can find. But it’s more fun to call them TOP SECRET. Full disclosure: this idea is not my own. Ann Voskamp used to have a sidebar link-up with a list of 20 or so sites four or five years ago, but many of the links are dead or discontinued now.

We don’t visit these every day, but every day that we do visit them, we are inspired and learn something new.

Daily Audio Bible (adult or child’s version) for when I’m cooking in the kitchen and need just a MOMENT.

Daily Bible Art (if you scroll down to the right, there’s a new featured piece of biblical art every day.

Rosemary Wreaths are a Fun Natural Handicraft

This afternoon, we did two crafts:

Rosemary wreaths– The rosemary wreaths turned out really well for us. All it took was a little twine, some rosemary and….. duct tape. I know, I know, florist’s wire or tape would be better. But, it just wasn’t happening this morning. So I cut little slivers of duct tape for the boys. Some of their wreaths turned out well. Others struggled a little in the aesthetic department. However, the big boys both enjoyed doing such an easy (and fast) craft that looked beautiful and smelled fantastic.

Twig & fabric scrap Christmas trees. The twig & fabric scrap Christmas trees turned into a big fat Pinterest fail. Something about trying to cut fabric with four kids who all want fabric at the same time and all want each other’s fabrics. I did not think that through well.

Tomorrow is Saint Nicholas Day, and it will be our first year celebrating it as a family. The kids have never “believed in Santa,” but in recent years, we’ve found that teaching historical narratives of people with good character is beneficial. So we’ll be celebrating both Saint Nicholas Day and Saint Lucia Day this year. This morning I read this book to the children.

Yesterday, while I was at a meeting, the kids watched “Buck Denver: Why Do We Call It Christmas?” and learned a little bit about Saint Nicholas and why our culture has Christmas and “Santa” confused.

Tonight, we’ll be putting out the kids’ stockings, and they’ll wake up to some oranges and some chocolate coins.